Troy Vincent: A winner on the field and off

Troy Vincent isn't suprised the Dolphins are struggling this season. He knows the Dolphins don't have a great quarterback and in the NFL, it's practically impossible to successful when your quarterback play is inconsistent.

""When you look at the state of the league, when you don't have consistent quarterback play, I'm not surprised," Vincent said this week. "I never forget when I came to the Dolphins and Danny [Marino] shared with me, 'You win in this league, Troy, with consistent quarterback play so you'll have a chance to win here every week.' He was talking about himself at the time. But as you develop as a professional you look around and see that when you don't have the quarterback play, and the quarterback down there is gone for the season now, and it's up in the air who's going to be behind the center, you're going to have challenges. It's tough to win in that situation. And over the last few years it's been that way in Miami."

Vincent played for the Dolphins from 1992 when Don Shula made him the No. 7 overall selection in the draft until 1995. He went on to play for the Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins in a career that spanned 15 seasons.

Today, Vincent is the NFL's Vice President of Player Engagement, formerly the league's player development organizaton. And from that perch Vincent deals with current and former players every day, trying to make sure they prepare and succeed in football today and their lives when the games and careers are finished.

"My sole responsibilty and purpose is to help those young men to transition -- those coming from college into the pros as rookies and then help those that are transitioning out," Vincent says. "Let's identify what you want to do with your life and identify the skills you learned as a professional athlete and put those to work as you go into the next phase of your life."

Vincent is arguably the greatest cornerback ever to play for the Dolphins. And the stories he shares of his first days with the Dolphins are priceless.

"When I came in I remember coach [Don]Shula picked me up in his Crowne Victoria and, fortunately at the time, the club was filled with veterans and he said to me, 'I'm going to drop you off when we get to St. Thomas and there's a gentleman I want you to go see. He will teach you how to be a pro. It's number 56. I want you to go to his locker and introduce yourself.' It was John Offerdahl," Vincent said. "And at the time I was embraced by John. But coming in from coach [Barry] Alvarez at Wisconsin I already knew football was a game, it wasn't a career. It wasn't something I could do the rest of my life. Coaching you can. Playing you can't."

(Can you imagine Don Shula going to Miami International Airport and picking up his first round draft pick in his own personal Crowne Victoria? Classic.)

"It was a Crowne Victoria," Vincent repeats. "I was sitting in the back seat. He said to me, 'Son, I can only hide for you for two years.' I said, 'Hide me? What do you mean hide me?' He said, 'I can hide you for two years and after that the league will find you. The league will know who you are and will expose your greatest weakness. But if you become a student of the game, you'll play this game as long as you want to.'

"And that was my first conversation with coach Shula. I was so surprised and taken aback, I'm looking out on 836 and thinking, 'I can't believe the coach said he's going to need to hide me.' But what he was trying to instill is that your athletic ability will only take you so far. But if you make a commitment, and that's why he wanted me to engage with John Offerdahl, because he will tell you what you need to do to be a pro, then things can be diferent. And I had no idea what he was talking about. But once I got in the league I found out what he meant because everyone is talented. And those that make the additional sacrifices Monday to Friday are the ones that really give a team a chance to win on Sunday. I want to say it was the greatest words of advice that any coach has shared with me."

Vincent is 41 years old now. He's got a family. He's a success. And he's the made with advice for current Dolphins players. Yes, the players he knows are winless and obviously professionally hapless now.

"Continue to believe in your coach," Vincent says. "Come back [from the bye weekend] refreshed, recharged as you start the second part of your season. It's not over. Continue to believe in your coach. As a former player and the head of Player Engagement, engage ... The club has many resources. You have to engage so that we can assist you both on and off the field."

Vincent has overseen the changes in the player programs. It was necessary because while the programs to help the players had evolved and the services had evolved, and even as the league evolved, the office of player program services had not evolved. Vincent brought about that change.

"It needed a new facelift," he said. "It needed a new look and feel and quite frankly new objectives."

Some of those objectives?

Develop a better student athlete.

Develop the best group of professionals on and off the field.

And create a lifetime fraternity of men who are successful in society that happened to play professional football.

"We've seen it grow," Vincent says of his Player Engagement Organization. "... I would probably say we have a little over a third that truly maximizes the resources at the club level and league level."

Vincent obviously wants all players to embrace the programs that are available to them. He gets graduates of programs to come back and talk to current players about the advantages of using the resources. He even has ways of reaching out to players' significant others to get them to encourage the men s to seek the resources available to them.

"At some point in time, none of them know when their careers will end," Vincent says. "There is no policy or instruction when the game will end for any of us. We want you to begin to think about what life will look like after the pads are off. As professional athletes, we're often high-strung. We're often our own worst enemies. We don't like thinking about tomorrow. But tomorrow will come with or without us. And we want to make sure they're prepared."

I have a theory about NFL players post-retirement. Most fall into one of three categories: There are those that go into coaching on some level or another. There are those that go into the media on some level or another. And there are those that are broke about five minutes after their career ends.

The middle class, the folks that go on to open businesses or work in industry, are few and far between.

"Those are the guys we want to reach most," Vincent said. "We concentrate our efforts on the every day guy. We have an array of programs to introduce the men to the business world and the entrepenurial world. Just because you played the game doesn't mean you're going to be great coach or great commentator. Most of our service offerings are for the every day guy."

To me the most impressive program Vincent's office has is the tuition reimbursement program. The NFL pays the player to go back to finish his education. The league even pays for post-graduate education. That covers books, tuition, everything -- up to $15,000 per year. That is available while the player is current and up to three years after he's out of the game.

"Most of our players, about 45 percent of our population have their degrees. One of our degrees is to get that to around 60 percent which is far more than any other sport. It's double actually of any other sport."

Obviously there are down and out guys. Vincent sighs deeply when I asked him about them. He obviously has a place in his heart for those guys because many suffer from post-career medial issues. Many more deal with emotional problems, including depression.

And Vincent understands because he, too, dealt with a form of depression after leaving the game.

"I probably had a phase of that," he says. "When you read about the symptoms ... Look, we're prideful individuals and no one wants to be tied to that stigma. That's a stigma. That depression is weak. Depression is not weak. It's what am I doing? What's my value in society? What value do I bring to my family today? I would say after reading about it, studying it for so many years, being on the other side of the table, being 24, 25, 27 years of age and never talking about it growing up, but now understanding the signs and knowing the medical research, I would say I had my phase.

"We're seeing high levels of men not transtioning well. And we see depression set in. And they don't understand it's depression. They're just looking. They're trying to identify who they are. Where they want to be in life. What we look at when we say, down-and-out, we try to assess the individuals where they are. I was there once, that individual that after 15 years, now I had to transition to another life. It's adjustment. I'm still adjusting.

"I'm coming to work every day. Happily married But I'm still adjusting to life after football. The locker room comraderie [is missing]. I miss going into a locker room and being on that same schedule that I saw for 15 years. Traveling on a plane. The meetings at night. The strategy. I've had to shift that skill set to the place I'm working now. But I'm still adjusting."

I would tell you Troy Vincent has been more than successful at making the adjustment. He was a winner on the field and has become a winner off the field. Now, he's trying to spread that culture of success to current and past NFL players as Vice President of NFL Player Engagement.

Comments

[Read it and weep.]

Henne could lose for 5 more seasons and still some of you homers will be making excuses for him.

3rd stats don't lie.
4th quarter stats don't lie.
red zone stats don't lie.

And if you don't like stats....LOSSES don't like. The only way Henne could stop the league leading losing streak was to get injured.

[FLPD]

Troy Vincent was awesome! How great would it have been if he'd stayed with the Dolphins? How great would it have been if John Offerdahl had not retired prematurely?

How great would it have been if NEW YORK turd Steve Ross had never laid eyes on the MIAMI Dolphins?

[Cuban Menace]

Watching The Philly/Buff game, At least Miami's not the omly team that cant tackle......

[grrreatdane]

14-0 minni... Go minni

[tiredfinfan]

For all you guys that want change now? NO, NO, NO!!! Sean Smith, Reshard Jones, all these great players need to continue playing. Mark Colombu, Vernon Carey, outstanding! That great defense, leave it intact.

(Its our only guarantee to draft LUCK!)

[odinseye]

And if you don't like stats....LOSSES don't like. The only way Henne could stop the league leading losing streak was to get injured.

Posted by: Read it and weep. | October 09, 2011 at 01:20 PM

I'm too MANLY to weep!

Will a Whimper suffice?

[oscar canosa]

Jim Harbaugh appears wasn't a bad choice, Cuban Menace.

[thingspeopleshouldnotdo]

I'm certain the Dolphins will draft a franchise quarterback and a cornerback the caliber of Troy Vincent in the very next draft.

[SoiledBottom]

Dear Mr. Odinseye

On a musical note.

I quit smoking ciggerettes after 35 years and picked up the acoustic guitar 2 days after quitting.

Been playing everyday for a little over a year and a half now......Old dog....new tricks

Question.....was told in time that my finger bones would develope a calium buildup at the fingertips so my skin at the fingertips would not have gully's from pressing the strings....is it true ?

Still have gully's on my fingertips from pressing the strings.....I use a nail file to sand them down every other week.

Soiled :)

[grrreatdane]

While watching the steelers game I have come to the conclusion phin fans need we are terrible towels for this season!

[SoiledBottom]

TouchDown Steve Smith....go Carolina.....fight in the endzone....late hit on steve smith

[StinkyFish]

Damn, its only the first qtr. and the bye is already up by 10. Christ.

[SoiledBottom]

Vikes 28 zip over cards first Qt

[RickPerry2012]

GOP Primary is Jan 31st. Remember to vote for Rick Perry.

[odinseye]

Still have gully's on my fingertips from pressing the strings.....I use a nail file to sand them down every other week.

Soiled :)

Posted by: SoiledBottom | October 09, 2011 at 01:32 PM

Dear Mr. Soiled Bottoms,

The amount of calluses you build up depends on how often and how long you play. Never heard of Calium or Clacium build ups on the finger tip.

Accoustic guitar strings tend to cut into the skin/calluses moreso than electric guitar strings.

Two things you can do. Use an emory board as opposed to a metal nail file. Take off the least amount of the callus as possible.

Second, and more importantly, try FLAT wound strings as opposed to ROUND wound. You'll get a slight difference in sound, but much more easy on the fingers.

If all else fails you can always do like Tommy Iommi and make your own "artificial" finger tips(note: Amputation unnecessary and DEFINITELY NOT ADVISED).

Hope this helps :)

[bk]

latest rumor is the hc job is Grudens if he wants it. I'm really not impressed or a fan

[Cuban Menace]

Jim Harbaugh appears wasn't a bad choice, Cuban Menace.

Posted by: oscar canosa | October 09, 2011 at 01:31 PM

That;s the thing Oscar, Appernitly he's got some good sense, He's thinking what kind of sleaze ball would go looking for a HC that has'nt fired his current HC. Ross is a Moron. ust have made his money the sleazy way and yet this Idiot(Ross) Still thinks he's got the right coach, Either he thinks his fan base is clueless or he's clueless. My bet is the Latter of the two......

[grrreatdane]

Minni 28-0

[SoiledBottom]

Dear Mr. Odinseye

Thanx for the rely :)

Will look into the Flat wound strings.....I currently use medium gage strings would switching to a light gage help ?

Soiled :)

[Cuban Menace]

all else fails you can always do like Tommy Iommi and make your own "artificial" finger tips(note: Amputation unnecessary and DEFINITELY NOT ADVISED).

Hope this helps :)

Posted by: odinseye | October 09, 2011 at 01:54 PM

Black Sabbeth Rules bro, Soiled go a head cut off those fingers.......LOL

[Cuban Menace]

Will look into the Flat wound strings.....I currently use medium gage strings would switching to a light gage help ?

Soiled :)

Posted by: SoiledBottom | October 09, 2011 at 02:00 PM

Build up your fingers first, Lighter strings dig deeper... IMHO..Odin, What do you say??

[SoiledBottom]

Dear Mr. Cuban Menace

LOLOLLOOLOOLLO

Soiled :)

[Cuban Menace]

Unless it's a electric Get... Then go slimmer...

[DevilsAdvocate]

Soiled...

Another thing to check is the action on your guitar. If the strings are too high off the fretboard, it can be a b!tch even for experienced players.

Often the better the guitar, the better the action, but usually, except for the really cheap guitars, the action can be adjusted to be more comfortable. You just have to be careful that the strings are not lowered too much or they will rattle on the frets, but any shop that does guitar setup knows this. It's cheap to have done too.

Lighter strings will make the fingering easier, but just know the sound is lighter as well. I'd recommend go with whats most comfortable for you.

[grrreatdane]

Saw that Indy was up 14-3

[grrreatdane]

Sorry it was 17-7

[odinseye]

Will look into the Flat wound strings.....I currently use medium gage strings would switching to a light gage help ?

Soiled :)

Posted by: SoiledBottom | October 09, 2011 at 02:00 PM

Dear Mr. Soiled Bottoms,

The lighter guage strings on an accoustic will give you a notable "Country/Twangy" sound. If that's what your looking for it's worth trying.

There is a trade off and it depends on what and how you play. The low three strings of a light set(E, A and D)are much easier on the fingers. The high three(G, B and high E)not so much. If you do a lot of "riffing" on the high strings, they're very thin and can actually cut into the finger tips easier.

As with all things musical, experimenting and trial and error is the ONLY way to get there.

Good Luck!

[SoiledBottom]

Dear Mr. DevilsAdvocate

Thanx for that information.....I have been restringing my guitar myself....Alvarez AD-70S
got it at a pawn shop pretty cheap.....will bring it to a music shop in my area and have a tech check it out.

YouTube tutorials have been my teachers....but they dont give feedback.

Thanks again

Soiled :)

[Cuban Menace]

Devil, I say Soiled bottoms cuts off his finger tips, screw buying new strings, What doe'snt kill you makes you stronger has been my "Creado", Then again, I learned to play Guitars where amputations were'nt the approved way to play.....Though playing drums(Poison comes to mind) Where amputations are a great Promo for your band....

[nyfinfan]

We are in the lead for Luck. Minny, Colts winning.

[Cuban Menace]

Sorry, Ment "Def Leppard"....

[SoiledBottom]

Dear Mr. Odinseye

Thanks again for the info.

I wish this Blog had a video interface.....would luv to meet alot of you fellow Phin fans....and it would certainly cut down on imposter posters

Soiled :)

[ray]

I'm watch red zone and it almost looks like every team today offense's look better than our offense!! And I mean every team!
But I also believe that the PHINS will win today.... That's right! Win today no misprint here!!! HAHAHAHA !!

[PriceMaster]

By the way CM that was not me posting with imagery before.
I don't use imagery, I just come out and say what I want to say.
For example: The BACKDOOR wildcat offense made every player, employee and fan of the Dolphins look like a h o m o.

Or I heard such and such sprained his throat in a closed door meeting with the o-line before the game.

See the difference?

[Ohio Dolphin]

I've been away for awhile.......figured I'd check in.......watching the Saints game, Sprohls would have been a better pickup than Bush.....he's just an all around football player

[PriceMaster]

Don't worry ray Luck will fix our offense and our defense.

In fact now that Henne is out of the picture we already seem better.

[Cuban Menace]

Master, I know, There's been a "TROLL" As Odin would say. Knew it was'nt you..

[odinseye]

Soiled,

Go to Justinguitar. It's a free site. It's the best there is(donations are accepted).

Learn your MINOR pentatonic scale FIRST. All 5 hand positions.

Once you do this, THAT scale will teach you EVERYTHING else there is to know. You HAVE to learn the MINOR Pentatonic FIRST though!

Once you do, it will teach you how easy the MAJORS are, what the diferences are(very little)and how to use both. From that point the mixolydian and phyrigians are a CAKE WALK and unless you want to play Beethoven of Bach on the Guitar, that is ALL you'll ever need.

The hardest part and the KEY to the whole thing is learning the MINOR Pentatonic first. All 5 hand positions. From there it's a cake walk.

[dusty bottoms]

colts and vikes looking to get first win. we get that much closer to luck!

[PriceMaster]

It makes sense to blow the whole cap space on Luck.
Even if we have to start late round rookies at RT (Columbo) NT (Solai) OLB (Taylor) and FS (Jones) we'll still be better than we are now because Luck is a proven winner.

[Cuban Menace]

wish this Blog had a video interface.....would luv to meet alot of you fellow Phin fans....and it would certainly cut down on imposter posters

Soiled :)

Posted by: SoiledBottom | October 09, 2011 at 02:22 PM

Then again Uncle Soiled, lets thank the lord there's not, Iam sure a few of us are .... Well lets just say "Not camera Friendly" If you know what I mean..

[dusty bottoms]

luck doesnt come close to the entire cap space. first pick contracts cut way down now

[SoiledBottom]

Mr.'s Odinseye and Menace

Thanx for the site....and I forgot about warrents for arrest....so mevermind about the video comment I made.

Soiled :)

[dusty bottoms]

looks like its grudens job if he wants it. http://eye-on-football.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/22475988/32601277

[Cuban Menace]

Soiled, Make sure your index finger is long, Thats a prerequest,if it's not, your outta gas, Though if your Girlfriend/wife complain about"Fingering" you might be at a disadvantage..Ask "Mrs Soiled" About this..

[PriceMaster]

dusty,
I'm talking about the space currently occupied by Solai, Marshall, Long, Dansby & Bush and the other 47 superstars on this great team.
That's why we havn't signed Henne or Solai because we don't have money for both plus Luck.

[PriceMaster]

I know a lot of these can't miss QB's come into the league first overall and just put up SB after SB.
Guys like Rivers, Ryan, Bradford, Sanchez and Tebow.
In the great tradition pioneered by Marino I think Luck can jerk off this fan base for a good 15 - 20 years.

[dusty bottoms]

and the new regime wont waste money on henne or solai, see ya to both, dont want ya

[Cuban Menace]

Price its been 15 years since a QB has graced a fiel in Miami, Are you saying draft another Offense lineman??

[Cuban Menace]

I'll say one thing about the Bills, There not boring.........

[Cuban Menace]

and the new regime wont waste money on henne or solai, see ya to both, dont want ya

Posted by: dusty bottoms | October 09, 2011 at 03:00 PM

Dusty,. Like the "WHO" said "Meet the new boss, Same as the old Boss", Gotta a feeling with the Iiot Ross things wont change much.. Again JMHO that Ross is that big of a Idiot.

[DevilsAdvocate]

Buffalo looks about 5 times better than us on offense, defense and special teams, oh and coaching.

[NY "G"]

I really hope we get the #1 pick and get Andrew Luck BUT, remember there are also 3 other win-less teams out there, we have the Colts, Minnesota, Rams and Miami. Winning one game we have Denver, KC, Jacksonville, Zona, Seattle and Eagles.

Winning 2 games we have the Boyz, Chicago,Atlanta, Jets, Cleavland, Nattie, Berg, and DA RADERSSSSSSS.

So, mathematically it will be a tough to get that #1 pick and That's IF which is a BIG IF Andrew Luck remains Healthy and gets the #1.

Now, in my opinion ONLY...

The Fins without a doubt CAN accomplish a 0-16 season and that would come Naturally as the HC, GM and Owner and ALL Sparano's KIDS and assts are ALL in Diapers. The leadership has no plan and the team was somewhat OK with Henne at the helm.

Now that Hannie is out, Moore is at the helm.

I actually see Moore as an improvement and the fins potentially can meet what my projection was Pre season which was that we would finish out 5 -11 and with a late flag or help from the zebras potentially 6-10.

With numbers like THAT we don't stand a chance at the top 10 or Andrew Luck.

Also, I was sitting here thinking about what the Find have left in their trade bag for Drafts.

Would they, could they trade away their entire draft picks like Ditka did for Rickey Williams???

That may be our ONLY option.

But you know what they say.. we will kind of know when the clock clicks down to the goose egg at the last reg season game.

So for now folks... TICK, TOCK, TICK, TOCK, TICK, TOCK...

[$0.02]

Fu[k Jon "the Destroyer of the Buccaneers" Gruden and his narcissistic, locker room losing approach.

Keyshawn Johnson should have pimp-slapped the little b!tch.

NO RETREADS!

[Cuban Menace]

Two Cents, On your 6th beerI see.......LOL

[Cuban Menace]

Does anyone Feel sorry For Michael Vick Getting a Cheapped shot??????, I dont, I hope this moron getys a broken leg or two....

[dfins006]

Tuition reimbursement for football players who want to go back to school?!!?? Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that a priviledge they are given at an earlier time in their career for being good football players? Free tuition!

So in other words, the NFL fans are paying that extra cost to allow those who decided to be irresponsible during their college days to go back to school and do what they were supposed to do when they were younger?

The NFL has too much overhead, and this program is one of them... why would I be paying for tix increases when I know that part of that money is going to pay for athletes such as Michael Vicks, who is making mega money...

Absurd!

[$0.02]

Hey Cuban!

Wuzzup?

Your 3 - 13 prediction is looking pretty good!

P.S. - 6th beer EXACTLY! - Ding, ding, ding - Johnny tell the Cuban what prizes he wins.

[Cuban Menace]

Two cents, I'll tell you one thing, I've been following the NFL so long I can tell you what there will be, Been doing it so long I can tell you you that the bills will end up 8 and 8 NYJ will be 10 and 6 New Eng. will be 12 and 4. Baltimore has the Defense this year and will be avancincing deep into the play-offs, I see noone in the NFC being the "TEAM", Though Green Bay is the Media Favorite I just dont know, Iam sure of one thing, Miami being 3 and 13 I'am not sure of, I dont think they'll finish that good........ Again JMHO.

[$0.02]

Cuban,

I agree with your Baltimore assessment.
They look scary.
Glad we don't play the Ravens this year.

Since the Dolphins are out of it I have been keeping an eye on Detroit.

What are your thoughts on the Lions?